


Our Love Is Off The Richter Scale

by BlueMonkey, ThornyHedge



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Earthquakes, M/M, Male Slash, Minor Injuries, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-05 01:51:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1088189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMonkey/pseuds/BlueMonkey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThornyHedge/pseuds/ThornyHedge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written to satisfy the following prompt: </p><p>"New Zealand suffers a strong earthquake while they are on set - Dean gets trapped and is slightly to moderately injured while the guys freak out because he is their Dean and he needs help. Or him and another dwarf of your choosing get trapped together and suppressed feelings come to play with the stress of the situation (and again some potential injury). Or maybe Dean is in a relationship with one of the actors that had already wrapped and when they hear about the earthquake they freak out worrying about their blond Kiwi."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Love Is Off The Richter Scale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zuzivlas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zuzivlas/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, Zuzivlas! 
> 
> This is one of two of your wonderful hurt!Dean prompts that I filled, with the help of my literary partner in crime, BlueMonkey. This one's far more lighthearted (and less porny) than our other offering. Hope you enjoy the unconventional pairing. -- Thorny

Sparks flew the moment Dean met Adam and they saw the mutual deviltry in one another’s eyes. Dean knew right away he had found his on-set partner in crime.

“This,” Peter Jackson had said during his first day on the lot during a whirlwind tour, “is Adam Brown.” He steered Dean towards a slight, intense-looking man sitting at a table wearing a cardigan sweater and giant spectacles. “Adam’s playing the role of Ori.”

“Hello,” Dean extended his hand dubiously to the seemingly studious fellow, who appeared somewhat younger, but who still hadn’t looked up from what he was doing. When he did, Dean saw that Adam had been building a very life-like foot-high replica of Peter out of Legos. His eyes were gleaming with creativity, tinged with madness.

“What a wonderful likeness,” Dean remarked, "but I think if you..." he picked up a few dark grey blocks and clicked them into place around the plastic Peter's hairline. "Ah, see? There you go. He's a bit more salt and pepper, isn't he?"

Peter next to him coughed and chuckled, whereas Adam looked up at the newcomer with the broadest smile. "Yes, yes he is, you're right." He extended his hand and shook Dean's. "Adam Brown. You must be the new Fili. Getting intimidated at the size of the set yet? Don't worry, you'll get used to it." 

He waved his hand about to underline that sentence and scrutinized his replica critically. "There's something missing but I don't know what. Do you--?"

"We can fix _that_ after Peter's gone," Dean whispered conspiratorially. "Don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Hrm, yes, well," Peter clapped his hands together, "I can see you're in good hands with Mr. Brown. Let's let him finish the tour for you." Peter was quite honestly relieved to be handing Dean off so he could go back to his rushes.

"You don't mind?" Dean asked the Brit. 

"Not at all." Adam gestured for him to sit down. "You probably met Aidan already. And Peter, of course. If you give me just a small minute, I'll round this one up and take you anywhere you want to go. You're welcome to jump in, if you'd like." Adam smiled kindly at Dean, while he continued to search out the right pieces. "You got any questions so far?"

"I'm too new to know what the questions should be, I think," Dean sat, already feeling quite at ease with this man. "Was the old Fili a git?

"Oh no, not at all." Adam shook his head strongly. "Truth be told, I have no idea why he left. Must have been important though. I mean, who would walk out on a production like this?" He pondered over adding a little mustache to the figurine to make it better. "So tell me something about yourself?" Adam pushed the figure forward and smiled contently. This should do, for now. He got up, still expecting Dean to start talking, while he looked around for the best place to start.

Yes, the usual tour would be so boring. They were definitely going to go to props first.

"Well, I'm Dean," Dean smiled, "which Peter has probably already told all of you. Dean O'Gorman. But I'm not Irish. I'm the guy who likes to show his ass on the telly, and -- don't lie -- I know my reputation precedes me. If you're extra nice, I might even show it to you."

When Adam turned to him with a look of ghastly horror on his face, Dean grinned. "Too much?"

Adam stood there watching him for a good second or two. Slowly a grin broke out on his face. "Right. I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun together. And that's all on your shapely behind, my friend." He opened the door to the props department, waved at Terry from Storage and proceeded to lead Dean straight through to Creation. "Paints," he pointed to his left; he had a feeling Dean would think that useful. "Lots of gold paint, in case you know a good purpose for it. And there's chain mail." He walked up to a man just being fitted for a hauberk. "Graham, meet our new Fili!"

Dean's eyes were dazzled by the abundance of props and art supplies. _The budget for this film must be astronomical,_ he thought to himself. "Gold paint," he mused. "I'll think of something. I can't wait to try on this armor!" he ran his fingers over the shoulders of the many hanging pieces of chain mail.

He held out his hand to Graham. "I'm Dean O'Gorman, your new Fili. Nice to meet you, Graham."

Graham laughed and grabbed onto Dean's hand for a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you too, Dean. So, who put Adam in control of your tour?"

Adam shrugged innocently.

Graham patted Adam's shoulder in amusement. "Best get on with it then. I think they're just outfitting Richard, if you want to show him how he'll be spending the rest of his mornings for a year to come."

And off they were again. Adam's eyes twinkled as he entrusted to Dean, "I've been told the gold paint is in fact edible. Probably because all the other gold paint was sold out. I had catering spray it on Richard's food once. You should have seen the look on his face."

Dean's mind was already churning with the notion of painting his entire body gold... if only to photograph himself. But then he drifted back to reality.

"Yes, sure," I'd love to meet Richard. "Peter already warned me about the heavy clothing and makeup. It'll be a fun change. I'm used to nudity, remember?" he waggled his eyebrows at Adam.

"This only makes me think you'll be going commando under all that leather," Adam said back cheekily, "which, I might add, is probably not something you want to tell me. Because I will use it against you." 

"Commando?" Dean snorted. "I think not. Imagine the chafing."

Adam introduced Dean to Richard, then to the makeup and prosthetics artists. From that point on, there was always someone to say hi to and they hardly spoke between themselves. Adam quite liked the way their conversations tended to go. He was looking forward to when Dean's tour was done and he could finally really get started.

He followed Adam all around the studio for the next hour or so, being introduced to so many people the faces began to blur together. 

_Will I ever know these people as well as Adam does?_ he wondered. _Will they accept me?_

By the end of it, Adam patted him on the shoulder as if he could sense his pain. "That's that," he nodded. "Now, I've been told you're not expected anywhere until tomorrow. My training doesn't start until three. So what do want to do next?"

"It's true," Dean conceded. "Peter wanted me to take the day to get acclimated. I-I feel as if we should include Aidan Turner in whatever we do. If he's to be my onscreen brother, we should be developing some chemistry, don't you think?"

Adam frowned, "You know where to find him." They had passed his trailer earlier, where he had just been about to take a nap. Depending on what he considered a nap, he could be awake again. But it obviously wasn't the best of answers in Adam's book. "Come, I'll walk you there."

Dean noticed the change in his new friend's mood. "You know," he reconsidered, "you and I could do something alone, Adam. D'you fancy some beer? What do you blokes do for fun around here?"

Opposite him, Adam visibly lit up. "We've got beer, of course. We don't go out for a pub until after a working day though. And playing cards. But usually, we poke fun of each other. See, if Aidan's still asleep, and I were to know that, there are a number of things we could do. Not that you should be doing any of that on your first day. Better keep that for when you're here a week or more, I think. So let's start with a beer, alright?"

Ten minutes later had them in front of Adam's trailer, both sitting on a crate of beer. "So," Adam raised his bottle, "do you think you can get used to this?"

"I think I can," Dean moved his bottle in to clink it against Adam's.

\- - - - - 

Next morning at 6, Dean sat in Brigit's make-up chair, nauseous from his drinking the afternoon and evening before. The smell of adhesives used on his skin and hair wasn't helping.

Perhaps it was the tang of glue that distracted him long enough. But when he opened his eyes again, Adam sat next to him, looking very much awake for the hour. "Makeup tests," he smiled, "that's fun. You seem like you held down your liquor, well, decently."

Brigit looked at them and shook her head in amusement. The first day. "Careful," she said to Dean. "He looks innocent enough, but he's known around here for his sense of fun."

"I'm also great with knitting needles," Adam added. "Practiced, you see, because that's what Ori does."

At that moment Aidan entered, sleep-groggy and half asleep again, the moment he landed in his chair. "You're up early." If he wasn't so sleepy, he would sound surprised.

"Good morning, brother," Dean greeted him. "They're trying a few looks on me this morning. Apparently you and I don't look nearly similar enough to be siblings. Though how they'll get you to be as attractive as me remains to be seen," he smiled slyly.

"Haven't you heard?" Aidan replied with a wave of his hand, "It's you they still need to decide on." He woke up enough to grin at Dean, and then proceeded to yawn and sink back in his chair worse off.

Adam sat down on the seat next to him. He prodded at Aidan. No response. Again. A murmur, this time. "Can I do the eyebrows?" he whispered to Brigit. "Please?"

She bit her lip and smiled. "Five minutes," she whispered. "That's all I can give you with him. _Don't_ shave them," she held up a castigating finger.

Dean chuckled. "You are my kinda guy, Ads," he smiled at his new friend.

\- - - - - 

Over the coming weeks, as Dean settled into Fili--and the rest of the cast got used to the substitution--Dean laid low. That is to say, he was well-behaved.

Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and he and Adam were moved to play a prank... on Ian McKellen.

Adam had been nicking gold paint for a few days. He pulled Dean into his trailer and proudly showed him several small containers of edible paint, stacked away in one of the drawers under the bed. "What do you think?" he asked, "can we work with this? I tried to see if they had more colors, but this was all I could find."

"It's perfect," Dean bumped his shoulder against Adam's. "Gold's perfect. Rainbows would be better, of course, but gold will work just fine."

"Now," Dean picked up one of the small containers and held it up to the light, "how do we go about getting it into his martini?"

"In his Martini? Oh no, there's no fun in that. He'll see that straight away. What if we paint all his underwear gold?"

"Bah," Dean scoffed. "Sir Ian probably already owns _three_ pairs of gold underwear. What could we do to him... on set?"

"Well," Adam mused. "He is Gandalf the Grey. It wouldn't do to have something in gold, now would it?"

"Oooh," Dean grinned. "The hat? The _inside_ of the hat. Then when he takes it off, his hair's gold." 

Adam exchanged a look with Dean. And just like that, the deal was sealed.

To be safe, Adam asked around at the costume department which hat would be for which day. He didn't let anyone in on their plans and returned when it was late to paint the lining. Some oil--he had looked that up on the Internet--kept it from drying. And it was supposed do go off with some water.

The following day, Adam glanced at Dean--now in costume--and grinned. Any time now.

Dean felt a giddiness he hadn't experienced since he was sixteen and pranking one of the members of the school rugby team who bullied him by putting itching powder in his jockstrap.

He was so happy he'd met Adam. Though he'd left Auckland feeling like he might be entering some sort of mid-life crisis, hanging around with Adam made him feel like a kid again.

Standing three feet away in Ori's cardigan with his giant nose and red braids, Adam looked absolutely adorable. Dean couldn't help grinning.

Peter called for everyone to get into position, and they were off. Beorn's house was enormous. It was the first time Dean saw it, as it hadn't been part of yesterday's tour. Everyone found their position while Peter took Dean apart and explained him what was happening today. It was a little early for him to be thrown into the shooting, they all accepted that, since his Fili still needed developing, but technically he only had to be there sitting in the background for this particular shot. It was the scene where Gandalf talked to Beorn in a secluded corner, away from them.

Adam was in that same background. He made sure he was close to Dean and kept exchanging gleeful looks with him.

The cameras rolled, and everything went by the book. But then Ian took off the hat, and Peter at once, alarmed, called cut.

Ian's hair, that had been below his pointed hat, was a brilliant shade of dark gold.

"That'll teach him to make fun of _The Almighty Johnsons,_ " Dean whispered to Adam, who gave him a hidden fist-bump beneath the enormous table.

They weren't found out--that time. But over the ensuing weeks and months, the pair's notoriety for practical joking grew, and so did their bravery.

It wasn't long before the cast and crew could come to expect at least one semi-elaborate prank per week. They painted two of the ponies pink. They blacked the eyepieces of two of the cameras so that the cameramen came away looking like raccoons. They papered the inside of Graham's trailer with Justin Bieber posters. They even got a battalion of elves to break out into a flash mob to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way."

But now they were at a loss. Filming was nearly at an end. They had to come up with something big for their finale.

For over a week, no pranks were made. There were some who thought it had finally ended--and quite a few who lamented that--and some who were only more on their guard. Something was going to happen, half of them said. Richard came out and asked Dean and Adam, one night, but they both declined anything stiff-lipped. Of course they weren't planning anything. The deadline was so tight and so much work still needed to be done that they'd be fools to try and push anything further back.

They had a point.

So a few days prior to the final shoot, nobody saw it coming when Adam had confetti and tinsel rain down all over the Mirkwood set. Both him and Dean grinned when everyone looked up, astonished. Confetti clung to Thorin's spider webs and furs, and they stuck in Gloin's hair like he was dressed to party.

It would have been great, until from their left sounded a shout and they looked up to see one of the large Fresnels rigged to the roof blowing out more confetti--on fire.

Pandemonium ensued. What had been a perfect photo opportunity--which several of them had taken, pulling forbidden cell phones from hidden pockets--became chaos.

Thankfully, level heads prevailed. Dean, who had a working knowledge of cameras and was concerned about the fire hazard from the infancy of their plan, knew where to find a fire extinguisher and quickly ran up the catwalk and extinguished the blaze. 

But the damage had been done.

"Well now," Jackson, clearly furious, addressed them all, "obviously we're done for the day. _You two jokers,_ " he turned to Adam and Dean, "are going to clean this set from stem to stern... and you aren't getting out of costume or returning to your trailers until it's pristine. Do you get me?"

Meekly, the lads nodded. 

"And that camera... it's coming from your paychecks," he added. "Josh!" he called to one of the properties managers, "get these two a couple of brooms!"

"That was fantastic," Orlando chuckled as he walked past Dean. "You two are worse than Merry and Pippin."

Evangeline Lilly leaned down and pecked Adam on the cheek with a giggle. "It's been nice knowing you."

"Brilliant," Aidan clapped them both on their shoulders. "Insanely brilliant. Have fun cleaning up."

Despite the encouragements, they tasted bland to Adam, who sat down and looked at the set. Several charred burns riddled the psychedelic trees of the Mirkwood set, and where everything was okay, it was still a mess. He hadn't expected them to be the ones to clean this stuff up. One by one they saw people leave the set until it was just them two, left to fix the mess.

"Well," he sighed, "I suppose we should have thought about that. Let's get to it, won't we?"

"God," Dean sat down next to him, overwhelmed by the mess. "I knew it'd be messy, and I thought we might end up having to sweep up. But the fire... well, that threw a spanner in the works."

A grin spread across his face though. "Ah, but it was worth it, eh?" he reached for Adam's hand and squeezed it. "Richard looked like a little boy when he smiled, all that confetti raining down on him."

Adam carefully allowed the smile to become infectious, until he was smiling just as widely. "Did you see Lee? That was marvelous. The look on his face, as if someone had outdone his costume. I bet he was still in character when he pulled that face. Probably thought it was part of the plan." He looked over the set. "How long do you think it's going to take before we fix this up? Looks like it could take a while, I'm afraid."

"Yeah," Dean frowned. "This'll take a good part of the evening." He stood back up and noted the brooms and dustbins placed near the door of the set. "Looks like our cue to get to work. At least there's two of us to share the job," he strode across the set and brought a broom back to Adam. 

"I guess we just start in one corner and deal with stuff as we come to it. I doubt we can do anything about the burned trees... but I'm sure they have plenty more in properties. Hope so," Dean added. "I can't believe Tauriel kissed you!" he chuckled, bending to the task.

"I'm her favorite dwarf," Adam quipped. "Of course she kissed me." He took one dustbin and stretched his legs. His costume was heavy enough as it was. He started removing the prosthetics despite Peter's words and placed them neatly to the side, starting on the task at hand. "Besides, I saw Ian blow you a kiss the other day. To be the favorite dwarf of Gandalf, now that's something."

"I'd rather be _your _favorite," Dean groused, still somewhat burning with the jealousy he'd felt when Evangeline's lips touched Adam's cheek.__

__"Well, we mentioned whose favorite _we_ were, not who are ours," Adam noted, looking around for a brush to get the bulk of the stuff off the floor. Maybe they needed to check in with cleaning to see if they had something like leaf blowers or anything. "God, I could use a cold beer."_ _

__"So..." Dean started over with his broom to help Adam sweep his pile onto a dustpan. "Is it me?"_ _

__At that moment, they heard a rumbling sound, like an approaching locomotive. Dean would have thought that they themselves were being pranked, but he'd heard the sound before._ _

__The floor beneath them began to shift._ _

__Adam's eyes grew wide. A rattling sound came from above them, where the suspended lights started to shake against the bars. Some of the confetti in the tops of the trees was being shaken out. Adam took a step back, then another. Everywhere his feet took him, it felt like the earth was about to split open. Finally he got up on a hollow rock. "Dean..." he whimpered, "what is happening?"_ _

__"Earthquake!" Dean called. "We have them here in New Zealand every now and then." He looked around frantically. "Get to that doorway over there... and brace yourself!" he pointed a the doorway to the storeroom about ten feet behind the fake boulder Adam was standing on. "I'll be right there."_ _

__At that moment, a large tree toppled between them._ _

__"Go!" Dean ordered a wide-eyed Adam. "Now!"_ _

__"Dean!" Adam called out, momentarily stunned. He looked around if he could do something, but the tree blocked his access entirely. A low rumble sounded above him and he turned to look at the ceiling. While under him the earth seemed ready to devour him, the ceiling seemed eager to push him into the soon to open pit. Large chunks were separating through several fractures. Adam stumbled back. His eyes didn't leave the ceiling once. As such, he didn't know he had backed himself in a corner of the studio until it was too late and a large block of concrete came down in front of him._ _

__Adam screamed._ _

__Dean scrambled over the fallen tree and ran in Adam's direction, terrified that his friend had been crushed by the fallen portion of ceiling._ _

__"Adam!" he cried out, trying to keep his footing as the floor shifted, throwing him off his feet just as he'd reached the fallen slab. The wind was knocked out of him. "Adam, talk to me!" he gasped._ _

__A grinding metallic sound came from above him. He knew something was falling. Still on his stomach, Dean tried to propel himself into the same corner Adam had sought refuge in. Seconds later a bank of lights came crashing down across his lower back, pinning him painfully._ _

__"Oh my god," Dean gasped, bringing his bracered arms up to cover his head as more pieces of the ceiling rained down around him._ _

__The shaking seemed to go on and on, but it couldn't have lasted more than fifteen seconds. Finally, a silence descended, punctuated by the distant sound of car alarms._ _

__"Adam?" Dean uncovered his head. His voice was hoarse from shouting. "Adam?"_ _

__He thought he heard a whimper behind the concrete, or perhaps it was just the debris settling. Hope blossomed in his chest._ _

__Then, from above him came another frightening metallic sound as another bank of light shook loose, but didn't fall. One of the spotlights, however, did break off and crashed to the set floor, inches from Dean's head, striking a glancing blow to the back of it._ _

___My god,_ he thought, _another few inches closer and I'd be--__ _

__He was unconscious before he could finish the thought._ _

__When he came to, an hour had to have passed. Without a clock, there was no way to check the time. All was still around them though, so maybe it hadn't been that long after all. Surely people would come to check on them. Adam blinked his eyes open. A large slab of concrete locked him into a tiny space in the corner. He was certain that if he hadn't moved, the stone would have severely injured him--if not worse. That thought ran a shiver down his back._ _

__"Dean?" he called out, "Dean, are you there? I'm...okay, I think. Please tell me you're okay."_ _

__The shaking had stopped around them, thank god, but Adam was anything but relieved._ _

__Adam lay curled on his side, shivering despite his heavy costuming. He regretted taking off the prosthetics on his hands, but having them uncovered made it easier to interact with his environment. Tentatively, his fingers explored the dark, small enclosure. At last, he found a small opening along the base of the wall through which he could feel a bit of air flowing. He carefully reached out through the triangular hole and his hand encountered another._ _

__Dean's._ _

__Dean's fingers were cold under his bracer, and did not grip his back when Adam squeezed them._ _

__"Dean?" Adam's voice trembled. "Talk to me, Dean!"_ _

__He stretched to the limit of his confined space, feeling for a pulse on Dean's cold wrist. It was there, strong and reassuring, under his shaking fingers._ _

__Adam didn't know what else to do. He could hardly see, with the lack of natural lighting and the loss of power firing the lights. So he did all he could think of; he tugged on Dean's hand, nudged it, lightly smacked it--he did everything he could in order to make him regain consciousness. He needed to know if he was fine. "Dean," he pleaded, "please. Wake up."_ _

__Five minutes later, Adam gave up with an anguished cry. He lay down on the ground, his fingertips still touching Dean's, and closed his eyes._ _

\- - - - - 

__As Dean came around, he groaned at the pain in his head and back, not immediately remembering what had happened. He tried to push himself up, but the weight across his back reminded him of the terror of the earthquake and the building falling in around him and--_ _

__"Ads?" he asked quietly, then a bit more loudly. He felt a flutter of movement beneath his right hand and realized it was another person's hand. "Adam?"_ _

__"Dean?" Adam pulled himself up. For a moment their fingers disconnected. Then Adam lay back down and grabbed his hand. "Are you hurt? Please tell me you're okay. They'll be here soon, I'm sure they will. Hang on." He was terrified to hear the wrong answer._ _

__"I'm okay, I think," Dean assessed. "Something fell on my back. A rack of lights from the ceiling. Heavy... can't move it. But it landed on the fat suit. I-I don't think anything's broken. It's just really heavy," he closed his fingers around Adam's. Both were cold. "A light fell right next to my head. If I hadn't moved closer to you I'd be dead right now. It grazed me. I... how long has it been? Are you hurt?"_ _

__"You're not bleeding anywhere?" Adam could hardly see a foot in front of himself, but he knew a trickle of blood had run down his cheek before it dried up. He had tasted the metallic tang and his hand came away with blood when he had wiped at it. "I'm okay. I don't know how long it's been. I've tried counting, but at least half an hour. Oh," he lamented, "we never should have done the confetti cannons. I think I bumped my knee."_ _

__It didn't dawn on him at first that it was because of their prank that all of the others were safe._ _

__Dean let Adam's inventory of injuries gel in his brain, as he reached up to feel where the light had struck him on the head. His hand came away wet. "I guess my wig cushioned the fall. I'm okay," he lied to Adam. "Sore, but okay."_ _

__He was quiet for a moment, but was also putting two and two together. "Everyone else would have been in here too if we hadn't set the place on fire," he couldn't help smiling. "God, I hope they were somewhere safe. Those trailers... they are remarkably safe places to be during an earthquake. The tires help cushion the damage. You plan was not only genius, Ads, but well timed."_ _

__"I guess so. But Dean, I'm still really sorry. They weren't supposed to catch fire. Peter was so angry with us." Adam squeezed his friend's hand. He coughed once at the amount of pulverized stone ground to a powder still hanging in the air. "They're probably outside with the door jammed. They'll be here soon, I'm sure. I'm glad you're here with me though." Adam smiled sadly when those words rang more true than he expected._ _

__Dean squeezed his hand. "I'm glad you're here too," he confessed. "There's no one I'd rather be trapped under tons of rubble with, in fact." He felt a need to keep Adam talking, as the other man seemed terrified._ _

__"This was your first quake, wasn't it?" he wondered._ _

__Adam sighed. "Are they always like this? I didn't know they usually destroyed this much. Honestly, I expected it to be more like a light tremor, I suppose." He shrugged hopelessly. "I guess this just made cleaning up the place before eleven a whole lot harder, eh?"_ _

__"Well," Dean told him, "it depends on the structure and where the quake's epicenter. A normal house or building probably would have been okay in a quake like this. But the set--well, it's meant to come apart easily. The lights were a bit of a surprise," he admitted. "This wasn't such a bad quake. I'm sure when we get outside you'll see that not much else was damaged."_ _

__"So these things...don't generally scare you?"_ _

__Dean thought for a moment, thinking back to the terror he'd felt when he didn't know whether or not Adam had been flattened by a chunk of the ceiling._ _

__He gripped Adam's hand tightly. "They do now."_ _

__"I'd definitely always be scared of something like this," the younger confessed. "I'm so glad you're alright. Pity there's a wall between us, I could use a good joke or a hug to cheer me up. You usually do."_ _

__"Funny," Dean smiled to himself, "I was just thinking how much I'd like you to cheer _me_ up. You know, Ads, I've been meaning to ask you something. And, please, stop me if I'm getting too personal."_ _

__Adam shrugged, unseen behind the concrete walling him in. "Shooting is almost over. It's okay to get personal. You know you can ask me anything though, right, Dean?" Adam rolled so he could look at the ceiling and still touch Dean's hand. "I never noticed it, but you have a nice voice to listen to. Makes me feel calm."_ _

__Dean felt a warmth that he hoped wasn't internal bleeding well up in his stomach. "Thank you, Adam. I guess if I ever give up acting, I could get hired at a suicide hotline." He was quiet for a moment. "I... I never really asked, but meant to. Do you have someone special waiting for you, back in London?"_ _

__Adam smiled up at the ceiling. "Nobody for me. You didn't have to hold back to ask me that." It was nice that Dean felt the need to talk about it now. It beat Adam having to ask what he had been wanting to ask himself for some time now in an awkward context. "But since you brought it up; a guy like you, I bet you have someone waiting for you in Auckland, don't you?"_ _

__"Me? No," Dean answer quickly. "I date, off and on. Mostly off," he chuckled. "But no one's held my interest. It's hard, you know, when you're in the business. Non-actors... they don't get it."_ _

__"I don't really...date a lot," the voice on the other side confessed. "I'd like to, but something tends to come up. Or, you know, I find the best job in the world and it is literally on the other side of the world. Imagine that. What if you found yourself an actor though?"_ _

__"What if I told you... I had?" Dean's voice was hesitant. "Found one I fancied, at the very least?"_ _

__This could either be very painful, or very good. Adam dared hope little. "Then you should do something about that. Is there any way I can help?"_ _

__"Well," Dean screwed up his courage, "you _could_ say yes when I ask you out. Will you," he cleared his throat, "would you _like_ to... go out on a proper date with me, Adam?"_ _

__Adam stared at the wall. His chest expanded to accommodate his no longer tiny heart. "If you put it that way," he started, cringed at the light words put into place by nervousness alone, and smiled. "Of course I'll say yes. I never thought..." He never imagined Dean could like him like that. For Adam, it was a done deal, the moment he smiled at him, but he also knew that Dean could potentially love on an entirely different level. Adam expected to see him with models, pretty tall people, something like that. Adam was just Adam. "I wish I could tell you this to your face," he admitted. "But this is good too." Adam chuckled. "You're making me very nervous."_ _

__"I didn't ask you out to upset you," Dean immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Adam. I-I've actually been thinking about it for awhile now. I didn't mean to wait until the ceiling caved in, but since I have you here all to myself..." he squeezed Adam's fingers gently. "Don't worry, Ads. They know where we are. They'll come for us. And isn't it great the earthquake happened before we were done cleaning everything up?"_ _

__"It is convenient..." Adam had to admit. "All that confetti, I don't know how we could have finished cleaning that up in time. I guess we didn't think it through all that well." The hand that latched onto Dean's was shaking. He hadn't allowed himself to think about what could be before. That was definitely catching up with him full force now. "What do you say, if they get back early, we get out of our makeup and go for a drink tonight? I think I'd really like that."_ _

__"Ads," Dean ran a finger along Adam's knuckles to comfort him, "I think you and I might be in the hospital this evening. But, if we're lucky, we might get to share a room. I won't lie. I do look forward to seeing you in a hospital johnny."_ _

__A muffled shout sounded suddenly from outside. Dean thought it was someone calling his name._ _

__"Did you hear that?" he asked Adam. "A voice?"_ _

__"Yeah," Adam nodded despite Dean's inability to see him. "If you're in one. Thank god we have these suits. I wouldn't like to imagine what had happened if Peter got us through getting us in our regular clothes first." His heart was beating, and he wasn't ready to let go just yet. If he didn't call out though, they could pass him by until next morning. "Hello?" Adam decided to call out to whoever was looking for them. "We're over here, in the corner!"_ _

__Quieter, he whispered to Dean, "If you're not in the same room, do come visit me. I want to see you."_ _

__"I'm not one to believe in divine intervention," Dean didn't let go of Adam's hand, "but I think if I weren't wearing this fat suit, my back or hips might have been broken by that falling bar of lights."_ _

__"Adam!" Graham's voice was moving closer. "Call out again! We can't see you!"_ _

__Dean saw a flashlight beam pass over the concrete block separating him from Adam._ _

__"Graham? Over here! In the corner, we're in the corner!"_ _

__Adam had never been so scared, he thought. He let go of Dean's hand to make noise with it against the concrete, but when his palms got tingly and he tried to reach back for the other man's hand, it was no longer there. "Graham?" he called out again, "Where are you? Dean's here with me! Please hurry!"_ _

__It still took them fifteen painstaking minutes before they reached him, and then almost an hour to get the slab of stone away far enough for him to slip out of the corner. By that time, Dean was already moved away on a stretcher and off to the hospital. Adam's eyes were wide when he hugged Graham tight. "Where's Dean?" he wanted to know. "He's fine, isn't he?"_ _

__"He got a little dizzy when the medics turned him over and put him on the backboard," Graham told the trembling actor. "He's getting cared for. They rushed him to the hospital the moment they found him. God," Graham's eyes settled on the giant chunk of concrete. "That thing could have killed you, Adam. I'm glad you're all right," he held Adam at arm's length, studying him. "Are you all right? You should get looked at, lad."_ _

__Adam shook like a leaf. From here, the concrete was massive. Just a few inches further towards the corner, and he would have been done for. "I--yes, alright," he muttered. Someone took him outside and into the ambulance. He was glad that it was only the studio that got the force of it; nobody else joined him when he was taken away to the hospital._ _

__It turned out to be just a scratch. Of course it was, apart from the fright. But when Adam was acquitted, he had no idea where to go to find Dean. Graham patted him on the shoulder. "You seem a little lost. Are you sure you don't need to stay for a night?"_ _

__"I want to see Dean."_ _

__"He's fine," Graham smiled. "Needs his rest. You should come back tomorrow."_ _

__Adam smiled sadly when he looked at him--Graham hadn't the heart to drive him home. And so Adam was finally deposited in front of Dean's room past midnight, with Graham's promise to wait downstairs in the lobby._ _

__Dean was feeling little pain. The drugs saw to that. But he also wasn't able to sleep, despite the alluring pull of the drugs._ _

__He'd tried hard, for Adam's sake, to be brave, but he'd been terrified back on the set. That giant chunk of ceiling would have ended Adam's life, had it fallen any differently. Adam could have died. And Dean, who'd always had a problem with masking his true feelings under the guise of a joker, would have never had the chance to tell Adam that he was falling in love with him._ _

__As he lay pondering this, he was overjoyed to see Adam's silhouette appear in the doorway to his room._ _

__"Ads?" he called out, so as not to wake his snoring roommate, an elderly man who'd had a hip replacement._ _

__"Hi," came the quiet reply. Adam shuffled closer. The smaller the distance between them became however, the more worried he grew. When he was at the edge of the bed, he looked him over and said sadly, "You said you weren't hurt. All that time, you were in pain, weren't you? Oh, why didn't you tell me? I hate to see you like this."_ _

__Adam had, truthfully, expected Dean to sit on the edge of the bed, bored out of his mind. This was, well, a bit of a surprise. He sat down on the edge of the bed and squeezed Dean's hand. "You were honest about the other thing though, right?"_ _

__"Yeah," Dean drew Adam's hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly. "I was serious. And I'm going to be fine. Just a few scrapes, maybe a stitch or two" he shrugged, wincing at the pain the act brought to his lower back._ _

__"We were so lucky, Adam," he told his friend. "All of us."_ _

__"You're not lucky," Adam sighed. "But you live. That's more important than having this talk." His cheeks flushed at the kiss against his hand. "Did you mean it? About asking me out? Because I meant it..."_ _

__"What?" Dean exclaimed, dismayed. "Adam, I joke about a lot of things, but I was serious about that. Of course, I was serious! I mean, granted, I had planned to talk to you about it after we wrapped shooting. I was going to ask if maybe I could visit you in London over the hiatus."_ _

__"Here I am though." Adam tapped his fingers gently against Dean's hand. "Just checking." His body was still thrumming with adrenaline and indecision about whether to run or face the situation, when his heart had already decided he was going to kiss Dean now. Chained to a bed, what was the worst thing Dean could do, anyway? Adam leaned forward and pecked him gently on the lips once...then again...then pushed them against Dean's fully in patient expectation of a reply._ _

__Warmth flooded Dean until he felt his heart would burst. All the snarky exchanges and planning sessions had turned into a tight-knit friendship that had left Dean wanting _more_ for some time. He was rendered speechless by his good fortune._ _

__"Oh... Adam," he managed, reaching up for Adam's glasses, which had been broken in the quake, and pulling them off carefully. " _Now_ I can give you a proper snogging," he smiled, pulling him back in by the collar of his shirt._ _

__Adam laughed as his weight was pulled forward. He had to do his best not to crash into Dean and worry his injuries, but the acceptance was intoxicating. He moved his mouth tentatively against Dean's. Despite the hospital smell that clung to these quarters, Adam loved being close enough to take in the man's own scent as well. "I'm waiting," he murmured in challenge quietly._ _

__"Lie with me?" Dean patted the bed beside him. "There's room," he encouraged._ _

__When Adam crawled into the empty space, it began to warm. "I was worried about you," Dean pulled Adam's head to his own shoulder and clung to him. "When I think about what might have happened if that slab had ..." he allowed his voice and his thoughts to taper off. "I don't want to lose you, Ads." He softly kissed the top of Adam's head. "Today was terrifying."_ _

__Adam nodded. "Last prank of the season, that was. No more confetti. I'm glad nobody else was hurt. I think I've had enough of earthquakes for some time to come." He kissed Dean's shoulder. "Graham is waiting for me downstairs. Don't let me fall asleep, I'd hate for him to wait there for nothing."_ _

__"He should have come up," Dean seemed disappointed. "Aidan came here with me and he said it was Graham who found us. I wanted to thank him," he snuggled more closely with Adam, not wanting to relinquish him. "How long dare you stay?"_ _

__"Fifteen minutes should be fine. Graham thinks you need your rest. I'd ask him to come up but you know," Adam closed his eyes and pulled Dean closer, "I wanted you to myself for a bit."_ _

__"I'm okay with that," Dean yawned hugely. Now that Adam was safe and in his arms, the exhaustion was finally catching up with him. "Tell me what you'd like to do on our date."_ _

__"I don't really care," Adam admitted. "As long as we're both there and I can kiss you. As many times as I want." He looked Dean over and smiled. "Tell me, how did I get this lucky?"_ _

__"You were the guy who played with Legos," Dean smiled. "That was a real turn-on. You have no idea," Dean squeezed his shoulder warmly, planting another kiss on Adam's temple. "You've brought so much fun to my life, Adam."_ _

__Adam, well, Adam practically glowed. "And you, for indulging me. You know, I think I will just lie here until if Graham comes to get me." He offered a sly little smile to Dean and snuggled closer against him. He still couldn't believe it. Dean, wonderful, funny, sexy Dean, wanted him._ _

__"Don't want you to get in trouble with Graham," Dean warned, but even as he was speaking, his body was melting into Adam's, the stress of the day dissipating as he finally found sleep safe in Adam's arms. "G'nite, Ads."_ _

__"Night, Dean," Adam smiled with closed eyes._ _

__When Graham found them asleep in exactly that way, twenty minutes later after getting worried, he chuckled, closed the door and turned around. They were going to be just fine, the two of them. And finally without being blind to each other. That had certainly taken them long enough._ _

THE END


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